Investment Product and Service Launches

Morgan Stanley at Work Unveils Technology Enhancements for End of Year 2023

Morgan Stanley at Work announced technology enhancements to increase automation and efficiency across workplace benefits solutions such as equity compensation, retirement, deferred compensation, executive services, saving and giving, and financial wellness. Morgan Stanley at Work platforms Equity Edge Online and Shareworks together serve roughly 40% of the S&P 500 in the U.S. 

The improvements to Equity Edge Online include a revamped stock plan interface under the unified brand “Morgan Stanley at Work,” simplifying the user experience. Plan administrators can now upload foreign exchange rates by equity type, enabling automated reporting in USD and local currency denominations. Enhanced workflow functionality includes templates and automated scheduling.

The Shareworks updates offer streamlined plan servicing with improved performance and security controls. A new “Selling Shares” feature allows qualifying U.S. participants to transfer shares directly from their online accounts. Additionally, advanced performance in the Shareworks engine provide greater plan customization.

“Our ongoing mission remains to unify our tools and capabilities into a single user account structure that will enrich the user experience and help both companies and their employees expand how they manage their financial lives,” Mark Mitchell, chief product officer of Morgan Stanley at Work, said in a statement.

John Hancock Launches Active International Equity ETF

John Hancock Investment Management will launch the John Hancock Disciplined Value International Select ETF. The new exchange-traded fund seeks long-term capital growth and is managed by a veteran team at subadviser Boston Partners Global Investors Inc.

The fund focuses on a stock selection process, which targets securities with attractive relative valuations, strong fundamentals and positive business momentum. Portfolio managers Joshua Jones and Christopher Hart have more than 50 years of combined experience and are jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund’s portfolio.

“We are excited to launch a new active international equity ETF with one of our long-term subadvisers who is familiar to our financial professionals and their clients,” Kristie Feinberg, president and CEO of John Hancock Investment Management, said in a statement. “Boston Partners is known for its investment philosophy and ability to find value opportunities that we believe investors will find compelling as a potential core holding in their portfolios.”

John Hancock Investment Management’s ETF suite now totals 13 funds. As of September 30, the firm has more than $5 billion in assets under management.

PGIM Launches 4 Active ETFs

PGIM has launched four actively managed exchange-traded funds:

• PGIM Jennison International Opportunities ETF;
• PGIM Jennison Better Future ETF;
• PGIM Jennison Focused Mid-Cap ETF; and
• PGIM Short Duration High Yield ETF.

The three new equity ETFs, subadvised by Jennison Associates, seek long-term growth of capital with concentrated, high-conviction portfolios. Jennison’s long-term equity investment approach is based on fundamental research and bottom-up security selection.

The PGIM Short Duration High Yield ETF seeks total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation, investing in a diversified portfolio of shorter-duration high-yield fixed-income securities that are rated below investment grade.

“Building out our suite of actively managed ETFs is a priority for PGIM, and we have aggressive plans for future product development,” said Stuart Parker, president and CEO of PGIM Investments, in a statement. “We’re thrilled to launch four new ETFs subadvised by our affiliate managers to meet the accelerating demand for active ETFs from our clients.”